


Unfound

by INMH



Series: hc_bingo fanfiction fills 2019 [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Background Relationships, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-15 20:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19302955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INMH/pseuds/INMH
Summary: This is exactly why North leaves the brat-wrangling to Josh.





	Unfound

North needed to stop being so _nice._  
  
When she was an asshole to everyone around her, they left her alone. When she was _nice_ to everybody, they roped her into shit like brat-wrangling.  
  
“The kids _love_ you,” Josh had cooed.  
  
“The kids _fear_ me,” North had insisted.  
  
Josh had snorted. “Okay, sure, whatever helps you power-down at night.”  
  
“Wouldn’t it just have been easier to have this little Easter egg hunt of yours at home, instead of in the middle of a _human park_ in the middle of the day? Especially since it’s going to be full of humans and human children?”  
  
“It’s _everyone’s_ park now, North,” Josh had admonished her. “And that’s the point: It’s time the kids got some socialization outside of Jericho. They can’t stay walled-off from the humans forever, as much as I’m sure you’d like them to be.”  
  
“Yes, forgive me for wanting to keep them a healthy distance from the people who wanted them thrown into trash-compactors less than a year ago,” North had sniffed. “I’m sure that’ll be a great ice-breaker with potential human friends: ‘So, was your mom or dad _for_ or _against_ my entire race being exterminated?’”  
  
“Can you please- _please_ \- just try to keep it positive for once?” Josh had begged. “Please? I know you can take or leave the kids, but I’m trying to get them to develop beyond their programming and learning that the rest of the world is not out to get them is a big step in that. Please?”  
  
North had rolled her eyes.  
  
This? This right here?  
  
This is why she’s not nice to people.  
  
Maybe it was just Josh. Maybe she just needed to stop sleeping with him and making things easy for him. Maybe she needed to go Lizard-Bitch-Queen on his ass and hope he stopped roping her into this sort of thing.  
  
“North!”  
  
…Tomorrow.  
  
Today, it was a little late to put off the hell she’d signed herself up for.  
  
Jeremy came right up to her side and leaned against her. “Hi, North.”  
  
North raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you want?”  
  
“I’m just saying-”  
  
“I’m not telling you where the eggs are.”  
  
“Just _one?_ ”  
  
“No.” Good God, these kids were opportunistic. North made a point never to turn her back on them unless she wanted to be stripped down for parts.  
  
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, can’t you just give me a little edge in this?” He asked. “I never win anything!”  
  
“Then improve your game-winning skills,” North remarked flatly.  
  
“You think I’m not trying? Josh had to take all the fun out of it by not letting us use any software.”  
  
“Get Talia and Maureen to help you.”  
  
“Maureen’s off with Kylie, and I can’t find Talia _anywhere._ ”  
  
As Jeremy said it, North had rolled her eyes- of course he was exaggerating- and casually scanned the field of YK500s to find Talia and shove Jeremy off on her. One scan didn’t reveal her, so North did another, more carefully; her stress level rose slightly when she realized that amongst the crowd of children, she did not see Talia anywhere. “Go do whatever with Maureen and Kylie,” North ordered Jeremy before walking off without another word.  
  
North walked along the edges of the south-side of the park; Josh had limited the YK500s search for Easter eggs to this area, and North could only think that Talia had either ducked behind a bench or a bush (was she on the playground? No, she wasn’t there). That, or she had found some reason to go to another area of the park. North took off at a controlled stride to the north. “Talia?” She hissed, knowing Talia would at least _maybe_ be able to hear her even if she didn’t shout. “Talia!”  
  
As North looked around, she registered a raised voice somewhere nearby. A casual glance in that direction made her do a double-take: There was Talia! She was standing off to the side of the park, Easter-basket in hand, in front of a human woman that was looking at her with some degree of… Aggression?  
  
Shit.  
  
North hurried over and started to actually hear the conversation. “…know if you came here on purpose, or if you were came over just spontaneously, but you need to stay the _hell_ away from me you little-”  
  
“Lady, what is your _problem?_ ” North snapped, storming over and putting herself between Talia and the woman. “If this is how you talk to little girls, then maybe you should invest in some hardcore therapy- or if that fails, a _muzzle._ ”  
  
The woman spat on the ground before walking off. “Soulless robots!”  
  
“Bitch!” North barked back. “Christ, what an absolute-” _Word I can’t say around the kids, word I can’t say around the kids._ “Talia, you alright?”  
  
“That was my mom.”  
  
Talia said it in such a flat, emotionless voice that for a minute North didn’t comprehend the words.  
  
“What?”  
  
“That was my mom.”  
  
“…Oh.” It wasn’t unusual for the YK500s to refer to their human owners as parents (that was often what said humans attempted to _be_ to the YK500s), but some of them had dropped the habit after effectively being abandoned by them after the revolution. “Uh… Was she…” North wasn’t really sure what to say; the situation was complex. “…Are you okay?” She finally repeated.  
  
Talia didn’t respond.  
  
“Talia?”  
  
A beat; and then, a tear escaped from the edge of Talia’s eye.  
  
Of all the YK500s under Josh’s care, Talia was one of the least visibly emotional: She was calm and collected, didn’t bounce off the walls or scream or cry the way some of the others did. To see her crying silently now was uncomfortable, because North knew she was seeing something that Talia generally didn’t show anyone else.  
  
North cringed, unsure of what to do. “Oh, kid…”  
  
It took her a moment to work up the nerve, but finally she carefully lifted Talia into her arms. It wasn’t difficult- North was stronger than a human woman, so lifting a child Talia’s size wasn’t unmanageable- but it felt awkward, because though North spent time around the YK500s by virtue of being with Josh she didn’t really touch them or hold them the way he did. After a time, after being stiff for a minute or two, Talia melted into the embrace and pressed her face into North’s shoulder.  
  
“It’s okay,” North muttered. “She’s gone, it’s fine.”  
  
Talia began to shake, sniffling audibly now.  
  
(Wrong thing to say? North wasn’t sure.)  
  
North wasn’t stupid, she _knew_ she had a personality that could often be described as ‘difficult’ or ‘grating’ or ‘hellish’, depending entirely on who you were talking to. She was not someone that people clung to for comfort, and for Talia to do so now was surreal… But not terrible. Physical contact from someone other than Josh was nice sometimes, she supposed. North patted her on the back and turned back towards the Easter Egg Hunt, checking to see if they’d been missed. “Hey, you okay, kid? You want to head back?”  
  
She felt Talia nod against her cheek.  
  
“I won’t say anything, okay? You’re a tough little soldier, nothing rattles you, you’ve never shed a tear before in your life. My lips are sealed. Alright?”  
  
Talia made a weak little sound that might have been a giggle.  
  
“Alright.”  
  
North thought about putting her down and having her walk. Instead, she carried Talia back across the park, keeping an eye out for her bitch-bag ex-owner as they went. She’d have to watch out for that lunatic in the future; she had some irrational hatred for the little android she’d apparently once called a daughter.  
  
And no one was coming for Talia on her watch.  
  
(Maybe North should volunteer more often.  
  
Josh would be _thrilled._ )  
  
-End


End file.
